A New Story Begins
by newanimefan
Summary: It's been a few months since Sigfried and Rue went back into the story. Ahiru has been living with Fakir, and he feels sorry for his little friend. He makes a decision that may set a new story in motion... Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Please Take Note: I do not own Princess Tutu!

Fakir sighed, rubbing his aching fingers. He had been holding his quill all day, but had only been able to think up four words to write.

_Once upon a time…_

Disgusted at his lack of wordage, he crumpled the paper and threw it into the pond he was sitting by, lounging in his chair. The action earned him a reproachful and annoyed look from the duck splashing about near the dock. She grabbed the soaked paper wad in her beak and set it on the shore before resuming her play.

Fakir smiled sadly. How he longed to talk to her again, and to have her talk back. If only she had her body back. He wished that there was some way he could…

He stopped himself. There _was_ a way, but after the incident after incident they'd endured because of Drosslemeyer, he'd promised himself that he would never use the power he'd inherited. He wrote because he loved it, not to bring things to pass.

As if she knew what he was struggling with himself about, Ahiru waddled over and rested her head on his knee, comforting him.

"Come on, Ahiru. Its' starting to get dark. Charon will be worried. Let's go back," Fakir said, holding out his hands. She hopped into his arms, and he carried her home.

Charon had already prepared dinner, a warm stew, and it smelled heavenly. Although she'd been a duck for almost two months now, Ahiru still preferred human food, so when Fakir set out bowls he laid one out for her, too.

Hopping from the floor to a chair to the table, Ahiru sat down by her bowl. As usual, she fumbled for a few minutes trying to use a spoon before giving up and drinking the soup.

Fakir's heart ached for her. It just wasn't fair! The girl who'd softened his heart, stuck as a duck forever! His ears reddened slightly. That thought had been a bit gushy.

He ate slowly, watching Ahiru quietly. She could feel his gaze, but ignored it. She knew what he was thinking about, and she had no desire to discuss that particular subject. Or, more accurately, listen to him talk and try to decipher her quacks into answers.

She was a duck, and always would be, no matter how hard she tried to act human. It was the sad truth, but she just didn't want to talk about it.

After dinner, Ahiru disappeared outside while Fakir was talking to Charon about something. Moving out of sight of the door and windows, she clumsily attempted to dance one of her old ballet routines. Ballet was one of the things about being human that she'd miss most.

She heard the door open, and quickly halted her dancing. What would Fakir say if he knew she still tried to dance?

Probably something the words 'idiot' or 'moron', she decided.

It was Charon, though, not Fakir. Upon catching sight of her, He held out a little basket, with padding and a little blanket. Ahiru quacked with happiness. No more sleeping on Raetsel's old pillow!

She hopped into the basket, and was curled up in the blanket before Charon had gotten her into Raetsel's room, now her own. He set her on the nightstand, and then stated to leave.

When he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder, he whispered with the air of someone spilling a juicy secret.

"I was Fakir's idea. Don't tell him I told you!" he exclaimed, and vanished.

He closed the door behind him, leaving her in total darkness. She was stunned. Fakir? He'd thought of doing this for her?

She blushed.

Putting the thought to the back of her mind, she snuggled deeper into the blankets and dozed off.

A few minutes later, Fakir walked in holding a book.

"She forgot," he thought, staring at the sleeping duck. He sighed quietly. "I'll just have to read it to her tomorrow."

When Ahiru awoke the next morning, she saw the book Fakir had left on the bed and instantly felt horrible. Amid the joy of getting her own little bed, she'd forgotten all about Fakir reading to her. It shouldn't have been hard to remember at all! They'd done it nearly every night since she'd become a duck!

Wanting to find a way to apologize, she kicked the book down the stairs, then picked it up in her beak and waddled into the kitchen.

Fakir was already up and dressed, and he looked down at her from his seat at the table.

Ahiru put the book on the ground near his feet and quacked sadly.

"It's all right, idiot, just don't forget again," Fakir told her, half smiling. She quacked in happy agreement.

Fakir picked up the book and put it on the table, then reached down to pick Ahiru up and put her on the table.

Much to Ahiru's delight, there was a small doll's chair on the table where she usually sat. She hopped on, and sat just like she would've as a human.

After breakfast, Fakir had to go to school. Ahiru watched him go sadly. She could never think of what to do while he was gone. She was so lonely!

For most of the day, Ahiru swam in the pond. Eventually, though, she decided to try and dance again. Standing on the dock, she started to dance.

She kept tripping over her feet, but it was the happiest she'd been in a while. Time flew by, and soon Fakir was on his way back from school.

When he got home, he asked Charon where Ahiru had gone. After being directed to the pond, he ran off. When he spotted her, he froze. She was dancing. Just like the final battle she'd had.

As he watched, she tripped. She sat back up for a moment, then flopped onto her side, depressed.

That's when Fakir decided. Promise or not, he would write her body back to her!


	2. Chapter 2

Fakir ran upstairs, without any explanation to Charon or Ahiru. If he was going to write Ahiru her body back, he'd better start now.

Locking the door behind him so that he wouldn't be disturbed, Fakir grabbed his quill and a stack of paper.

Although he'd never been able to before, Fakir began writing of the future, focusing on Ahiru getting her body back. She would be human again if it was the last thing he could do for her.

Filled with adrenaline, Fakir wrote and wrote. The words flowed like never before, to the point where Fakir didn't even know what he was writing. Only that it involved Ahiru.

Occasionally, he thought he saw flashes of the names Siegfried and Rue, too, but that couldn't be true, right? They were inside the story, now.

For the next few days, Fakir worked without sleep. The story was nearing its close, he could just feel it. Soon, Ahiru. You only have to wait a little longer.

He decided that he would burn the story as soon as Ahiru had her body back. Hopefully, that would prevent any of the rest of it coming to life. That would be dangerous, especially because he had no idea what it was about.

The constant writing was taking its toll. Fakir passed out one day while working, and began having a strange dream.

Drosslemeyer's story, Fakir realized. The original book version. His dream self cringed when the knight was killed, and it almost cried when Princess Tutu vanished.

Get a hold of yourself, dream me! Fakir thought when he woke up several hours later.

He stared writing again. He heard a scratching at the door, but ignored it. Ahiru, getting your body back for you is more important right now than anything else! Go away! He thought.

He heard her quack sadly and waddle away. He turned back to the story.

Only a little longer, Ahiru. Only a little longer.


	3. Chapter 3

Ahiru was starting to get worried. Fakir hadn't come out of his room in days, the door locked. He only came out for meals, always with ink-stained hands and a tired but determined look on his face.

What is he doing? Ahiru wondered as she watched him disappear into his room again after breakfast one morning. She sighed. With him holing up, she had nothing to do and nowhere to go. Life as a duck could be really boring.

Whatever he's doing, it'd better be important! This is the fifth day he'll be missing school! Ahiru thought grumpily, although that's not really what she cared about. He was basically ignoring her!

Ahiru waddled outside and went down to the pond for the first time in days. If he wasn't going to take her, she'd just have to go by herself. She floated around on the surface for a while, her eyes closed. She was trying to relax, but it wasn't working very well.

Sighing, she got out of the water and hopped onto the chair where Fakir usually sat, pretending she was on his lap. The warm morning sun beating down on her in the comfortable chair, Ahiru felt her eyes getting heavy. A nap sounded good…

She woke up suddenly several hours later, surrounded in multi-colored mist that was dissipating slowly.

Weird… she thought, crossing her arms and rubbing them. It was starting to get kind of cold.

Wait a minute… ARMS?

Ahiru jumped to her feet, staring down at her newly returned body.

"QUACK!" she exclaimed, before hurriedly covering her mouth. She poofed back into a duck.

"Hmm," Ahiru quacked, confused. How had she gotten her body back? Would she be able to become a girl again by getting wet? She tried it.

Poof.

She turned around, and was about to start running back to Charon's to deliver the happy, confusing news, when she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes.

"Quack!" she exclaimed, and ran back. On the way, she wondered what was triggering her transformations. She didn't have the necklace!

She pecked at Charon's front door, and he let her in, looking surprised. Usually, if she left without Fakir, she would be gone all day, swimming at the pond and napping.

She quacked at him excitedly, but realized he couldn't understand her. She ran upstairs and grabbed one of Raetsel's old blankets off the bed. She dragged it downstairs, then looked around for some water while Charon stared at her, looking worried.

She spotted the bowl of water that they left down for her to drink from, and jumped in. As soon as she became human, she pulled the blanket up to cover herself.

"I got my body back!" Ahiru exclaimed excitedly. Charon gasped.

"Ahiru! How did…?" he trailed off, dumbstruck. She shrugged, just as confused as he was.

Fakir burst into the room, eyes wild. He caught sight of Ahiru, and his eyes teared up. Running over and squeezing her, he laughed.

"I did it…"


	4. Chapter 4

"Fakir? You did this?" Ahiru asked, stunned. Fakir nodded gleefully.

"I didn't know whether or not I'd actually be able to do it, but here you are!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, I am," Ahiru replied, still bewildered. Fakir stood up, and Ahiru shifted the blanket up higher around her. Fakir blushed madly. He hadn't even noticed that she'd been naked.

Turning to Charon to distract himself, Fakir began apologizing for the way he'd been acting lately. Charon brushed his apologies aside. What mattered was that he was okay.

"Um… I'm going to go see if any of Raetsel's old stuff fits me…" Ahiru said awkwardly, and rushed upstairs.

Closing the door behind her, she giggled. So all this time, Fakir had been trying to return her body to her?

She put the blanket down on Raetsel's bed and went over to the dresser, where most of Raetsel's old clothes still were. She grabbed a long sleeved white shirt and some blue shorts, and they fit pretty well, so she kept them on.

She walked back downstairs, where Fakir and Charon stood, watching something burn in the fireplace.

"What's that?" Ahiru asked. Fakir smiled. It was so good to hear her voice again! Then his face straightened out and he answered.

"It's the rest of the story I wrote for you. I didn't want it to completely come to life like Drosslemeyer's so I figured this was the best way," he told her, and she frowned, taking this in.

"Oh," she said. "Hey, since you wrote the story, why is it that I can still transform without the necklace?"

Fakir froze.

"You… You can still be in either form?" Fakir asked, stunned. He didn't recall ever writing anything like that…

"Quack," Ahiru said, to answer his question. Fakir stared as she popped out of the pile of clothes on the floor.

"I don't know. I don't think I wrote anything like that! All I remember about the story is that you got your body back!" Fakir exclaimed, thinking back to the writing process. Ahiru sighed.

She tied the clothes around her neck and started back upstairs, and found a small puddle on the windowsill from the rain a few days ago. She dipped her foot in.

She threw the clothes back on, and once again returned downstairs. Fakir was sitting at the table, and Charon was serving lunch.

"I know today's been crazy, but you guys still need to eat something," he insisted, and they didn't argue.

Ahiru picked up the doll chair off the table and put it on the floor, instead sitting on the stool she used to use to get onto the table. The threesome ate in silence, each one both happy and surprised.

"I'll need to re-register for school, won't I?" Ahiru asked eventually. Fakir nodded.

"You can't just show up, and the authorities will get involved if you're caught outside of school," he replied, masking his excitement. She'd only been human for a few minutes, and already more of their day would be spent together.

After they'd finished eating, Ahiru went back up to her room for a minute, wanting some alone time. Fakir didn't bother her. He had figured that she'd want time to process.

Ahiru, once in her room, did something she'd been longing to do in over two months. She danced. But this dancing was… different somehow. She wasn't as clumsy as she used to be, and she felt stronger, too. What changed? She wondered.

She came out after not too long, and Fakir took her to the school to register. On the way a thought struck her.

"Fakir, won't people wonder where I've been?" she asked, worried. She didn't want to have to come up with a lie.

"Uh… I kind of told everyone that you were having health problems and had to go out of country. I don't think that anyone will bother you," Fakir replied.

"Oh," Ahiru said. He'd done the lying for her. "So, who's the teacher? Mr. Cat was just part of the story world, right?"

Fakir nodded, and then said, "The new teacher's name is Ms. Hana Kawatake. She's a pretty good teacher, and she's a little bit less, uh, well, creepy, than Mr. Cat was. He was kind of nuts."

Ahiru agreed heartily. What was with all the random marriage nonsense?

Once at the school, Fakir led Ahiru to the office. Ahiru didn't recognize the secretary, but that wasn't saying much.

"Excuse me, but is it okay if I register for the ballet class?" Ahiru asked her, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Of course! Your name?" the secretary asked, pulling out a pen.

Ahiru answered all her questions, and soon she was registered to go to school the next day. She'd even been given a uniform and a leotard to replace her old ones that were still in Raetsel's room somewhere.

"So I guess I can start sleeping in the dorms again," Fakir said to himself. Ahiru nodded. She was glad that he wouldn't have to commute back and forth anymore. It had all been for her sake anyway.

She couldn't wait to start school again!


	5. Chapter 5

Ahiru woke up the next morning early, too excited to sleep in. She jumped out of Raetsel's old bed and threw on her uniform, then went downstairs. No one else was awake yet, so she sat at the table and waited. Her eye caught hold of the book that Fakir had promised to read to her before he'd started writing his story.

She picked it up and looked at it. It was an old fairytale, which is what they'd usually read. Ahiru flipped it open and began to read.

Eventually, she heard movements upstairs, and put the book back where it had been. A moment later, Fakir came down the stairs in uniform.

"Good morning, Fakir!" she greeted brightly. He froze, then relaxed when he saw her.

"You're not usually up this early. Too excited to sleep, eh, idiot?" he asked, starting to make some breakfast.

"I'm not an idiot!" Ahiru exclaimed, annoyed. Fakir chuckled.

"Want some?" he asked, nodding at the food he was making.

"Sure," she replied grumpily.

When they finished eating, Fakir wrote a note to Charon that they'd left for morning classes, and they went on their way. When they got to the school, they separated and went to their respective locker rooms to change into their ballet clothes.

"Ahiru's back!" exclaimed Pike when she saw Ahiru enter the room.

"It took you so long to get over your heartbreak over Mytho that you only now got back! You're so cute!" Lilie exclaimed, crushing Ahiru in a hug.

"I… That's not why I left! It was for health reasons!" she protested.

"Yeah! Mental and emotional health!" Lilie said, and Ahiru sighed. Some things never change.

She quickly changed into her new tights and leotard, and put her hair up in a bun. She giggled in excitement. It was finally time!

She walked into the room with Pike and Lilie by her side, and they sat down together. Fakir wasn't done changing yet. He was probably getting pestered about him elongated absence.

When Fakir did come out, he walked right over to Ahiru and sat down. Ahiru flinched on the inside. How would Pike and Lilie react?

Luckily, the teacher walked in before they could notice, and all eyes turned to her. She started calling out names for attendance, and paused for both Fakir and Ahiru's names to comment.

"Good to have you with us again, Fakir," she said, sounding just a little annoyed, but mostly sincere.

"And we have a new student, today. Ahiru!" she announced.

"She's not new!" Pike said. "She was gone for a while for health reasons!"

"Oh! Well, I'm glad you're feeling better, now! During class today, I'm going to be assessing your skills so I know which group to put you in, alright?" she asked. Ahiru nodded.

Ms. Kawatake began giving the rest of the class instructions, and Ahiru fidgeted nervously. Hopefully her non-clumsiness would continue.

"Are you ready to start?" Ms. Kawatake asked. Ahiru nodded.

After going over the basics for a while, she had Ahiru do a solo dance. She's got a lot of individuality, the teacher thought.

"Good! Are you comfortable enough to dance a pas de deux for me?" Ms. Kawatake asked. Normally, she didn't require that for the placement test, but she wanted to see what this girl was really capable of.

Ahiru nodded, heart beating hard. She could do a pas de deux. Piece of cake.

"Great! Now for your partner… How about Fakir?" the teacher asked across the room, where Fakir was working on the class material. He looked up. Ahiru blushed madly.

"O-okay," Fakir replied, walking over and taking Ahiru's hand, turning scarlet. Come on! You've danced with her before! Nothing's changed!

Ms. Kawatake watched in awe as the pair danced, full of emotion and with flawless technique. As their dance came to a close, she started clapping enthusiastically.

"Perfect! I think I'll put you with the advanced class!" she announced, and Ahiru nearly passed out, along with Pike and Lilie, who had been watching the entire time instead of working.

But last time I was having a hard enough time in the probationary class! Ahiru thought.

"A-are you sure?" Ahiru asked, sure she must have misheard. Ms. Kawatake nodded.

"Well, I suppose first I'll put you with the intermediate class so you can learn to dance on pointe, but then , absolutely!" she decided.

Things were definitely going to be different this time around!


	6. Chapter 6

The girl sobbed. How could this have happened? It wasn't fair!

She stumbled up the tower, crying softly. She had to get back… They'd want to know.

She reached the top, where a book sat on a table. It was the story of the real world. She opened it with trembling fingers, and disappeared in a flash of light.

Rubbing her head, she stood up. It felt strange to be back, in this world where she had once acted out Drosslemeyer's story.

She climbed down the tower, very similar to the one she'd come from, and set out for the school, tears still streaming down her pale face.

Her black dress rustled in the breeze. If memory served, she was almost there.

She turned a corner, and there it was. Her old school. Would Fakir still be going? Or would he be taking care of Ahiru, who had been left permanently as a duck? Well, she had to try here first. She could try Charon's house if he wasn't here.

It was the middle of the night, so her presence went unnoticed. She slipped into the boys' dormitory and walked up the stairs, her black boots making clopping noises on the tiles.

This was it. His room. She pushed the door open quietly. He was there! She ran over to the bed and tapped his shoulder, taking in a shuddering breath and blinking tears out of her reddish eyes.

"Hmm? What is it?" Fakir groaned, turning over and sitting up.

"Rue?" he exclaimed, suddenly not tired at all.

"Fakir, I have something I think you should know," she said quietly. The look on her face made him listen.

"Fakir… Siegfried is dead,"


	7. Chapter 7

"WHAT?" Fakir exclaimed loudly, leaping to his feet. Rue took a step back. She'd thought he'd react this way.

"I told you…" she answered, but he cut her off.

"I heard what you said! How the heck did it happen?" he whispered so as to not wake anyone.

"As prince, he was given the job of overseeing the mines and things like that, and he was checking on the miners a few days ago, when the mine collapsed! They still haven't been able t-to f-f-find his b-body," Rue replied, and burst into tears.

"Shhh! Someone will hear you!" Fakir said, his voice quivering in grief over his old friend. He plopped back down on the bed, and motioned Rue to sit down in the chair by the nearby table.

She sat down quietly, and proceeded to tell him all the things that had happened in the story world. Siegfried meeting his parents, him being given responsibilities. Her being given lodging in the castle.

Fakir listened in silence, only half listening as he fought to hold back the tears. How could Siegfried be dead? Suddenly a thought hit him.

"We need to tell Ahiru! She'd want to know," he said, and Rue looked up at him.

"Yes, Ahiru! How is she adjusting to being a duck?" Rue asked, and Fakir froze, remembering that Rue didn't know.

"Well, uh, you see, she's not actually…" Fakir started, but Rue interrupted.

"I'll just ask when I see her. She can't really answer, but I'm sure I'll be able to get the general idea!" Rue exclaimed, obviously glad to get her mind off the death. Fakir decided to leave it a surprise.

"Well, let's go over to the girls' dormitory. She's started living there again," Fakir told her, and Rue looked at him questioningly.

"Why's she living in the dorms if she's a duck?" Rue asked.

"You'll see. Let's go," Fakir replied, and they walked quickly over to the girls' dormitory and went up the stairs quietly. Man, I'll be in a heap of trouble if anyone catches me in here! Fakir thought.

When they reached the door to Ahiru's attic room, Fakir knocked quietly. She was a light enough sleeper to be woken by that, right?

Sure enough, Fakir could hear her soft moan of annoyance, and he opened the door, beckoning Rue to follow.

"Who's there?" Ahiru whispered from her bunk. Rue gasped.

"But… How?" Rue exclaimed, eyes widening in the darkness.

"Long story," Fakir replied, and walked up the stairs into the room.

"Fakir? What are you doing in here? And who's…?" Ahiru asked, trailing off when she caught sight of Rue.

"Rue!" she exclaimed, jumping out of bed and running over to hug her old friend, who was frozen in shock.

"Why are you here? Didn't Siegfried come, too?" Ahiru asked, looking around for the missing link. Rue was put into silent sobs, so Fakir answered for her, his own voice also shaky.

"Ahiru, Siegfried can't come. He's dead,"


	8. Chapter 8

"No…" Ahiru whispered, horrified, her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide and pooling with tears.

Fakir nodded grimly. Rue sniffled. Rue once again explained what life had been like in the story world, but Ahiru paid much more attention than Fakir had.

Rue stayed with Ahiru that night, although neither of them slept at all, both in too much pain. They stayed up the entire night, sitting side by side on Ahiru's bed.

When they had both shed their last tears, Ahiru started to explain what had happened to her and Fakir over the past few months, explaining how she'd gotten her body back but they didn't know what triggered her transformations, yet.

When the morning bell rang for wakeup, Ahiru couldn't bear to get up and face the world just yet, so she curled up in a ball and sat there stubbornly. Rue gave a sad smile.

"You need to get to class, Ahiru. I'll register today and start coming again. I'm going to stay for awhile, sort out my feelings and thoughts," Rue said, and Ahiru grudgingly agreed, throwing on her uniform.

Her old enthusiasm for ballet was all but gone during class that day, and Ms. Kawatake could tell.

"Is something wrong, Ahiru?" she asked as she watched Ahiru dance, lacking all the emotions she had portrayed only the day before.

"I'm fine, really," Ahiru replied, and the dead feeling of her voice told Ms. Kawatake that nothing could be further from the truth. She'd have to keep an eye on Ahiru's mood and see if things improved.


	9. Chapter 9

The man with the feathered hat chuckled. They had all taken the bait!

He'd have to thank the Fakir boy for writing a story without researching whether or not there was a way to stop it. Without that story, which was becoming reality as he sat there and thought, he would have faded away, his own story long over and slipping away from everyone's memories.

He glanced over at the cage standing on one of the many gears in his solitary world, all stopped, and was glad there was a large cloth over it. If he was going to communicate with the characters, best none of them see what was in that cage…

"Drosslemeyer! For the last time, let me out of here!" the prisoner sobbed. "Why are you keeping me locked up like this?"

"Hush, Siegfried! All in good time," Drosslemeyer said. He'd have to gag that boy before nightfall.


	10. Chapter 10

Fakir rolled over in his sleep. He groaned softly. This dream was unpleasant.

"Well, Fakir! My little writer! How are you?" Drosslemeyer asked, and Fakir wanted to yell at him to get out of his head.

"I'd be much better if you'd go away and LEAVE ME ALONE!" the dream Fakir screamed at him.

"Oh, now that wouldn't be any fun, now would it? I exist to meddle! Besides, if you hadn't written that story, I wouldn't be here!" Drosslemeyer said, and Fakir was shocked.

"But… I burned that story!" Fakir protested.

"You really think that that's going to stop it from happening? Once part of a story happens, so does the rest of it!" Drosslemeyer exclaimed. Fakir sat down on the ground and held his head.

"But I don't even know what it was about!" he said, horrified. Drosslemeyer chuckled evilly.

"Oh, but that's the fun of it!" Drosslemeyer said, but Fakir wasn't listening. He was staring at the cage behind Drosslemeyer. Drosslemeyer turned around.

Siegfried had managed to get his bindings off, had pulled off the covering of his cage, and tore off his gag as they watched.

"Fakir! I need your help!" Siegfried managed to yell before Drosslemeyer thrust Fakir out of the gear world.

Fakir bolted upright in bed. Siegfried wasn't dead! He was about to go run off and tell Ahiru and Rue, but he couldn't bring himself to go, because he'd also have to explain how it was all his fault that he'd been taken in the first place.

He'd just wait and tell them in the morning, after he'd gotten rid of some of this horrible guilt.


	11. Chapter 11

Sorry it took me forever to post! Holidays are crazy, and school kept interfering. Grr… Well, anyway, hope you like the rest of the story! (Well, part of the rest. There's still lots coming)

Fakir was up all night, pondering the things he'd seen in his dream. If his dream had actually come from Drosslemeyer, then not only was he, for lack of a better word, alive, but it was all Fakir's own fault!

The morning bells rang out loud and strong across the school grounds, and Fakir stood up slowly and changed into his uniform. Time to tell them.

Trying to put some confidence into his step, he strode over to the gate in front of the girls' dormitory and waited. It wasn't long until Ahiru and Rue came out, still looking rather shaken and depressed. Fakir swallowed nervously as they looked at him.

"Um, there's something we need to talk about, guys," Fakir managed to say, and they looked at him in confusion.

"What is it, Fakir? Is something wrong?" Ahiru asked, putting a hand on his arm.

"You could say that," Fakir replied, and told them about his dream. Rue gasped.

"You mean… He's not dead?" she asked breathlessly, and began sobbing into Ahiru's shoulder in relief.

"No, but unless we do something soon, he'll be wishing he was. I can't imagine being Drosslemeyer's prisoner is great fun," Ahiru said, a fire starting in her eyes. Fakir managed to hide a smile. That was Ahiru for you. He could almost see the plan starting behind her eyes. He'd ask her about it later.

Rue moaned, but before they could do anything, the bell for the start of class began, and the threesome started running headlong for the studio.

They made it in just in time, and all three had a great day, using their adrenaline from the news to keep them going strong. And luckily, neither Rue nor Ahiru seemed to realize that Siegfried's capture was Fakir's fault.

When they left class, they headed straight over to Charon's to discuss rescue plans…


End file.
